New York – The recent news that a Manhattan co-op spent $250,000 battling bed bugs made us wonder if buildings in some NYC neighborhoods were statistically more at risk than others.
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The answer is yes, according to figures supplied to BrickUnderground by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
As shown in the five-year chart above, which measures 311 complaints through the fiscal year ending June 30th, Brooklyn holds onto the title of bed bug king. It widened its lead for the fifth consecutive year, logging 641 more calls than the year before and 1,489 more than runner-up Manhattan.
In Manhattan, the highest concentration of complaints came from areas north of Central Park, accounting for 1,698 of the 2,553 calls. The Upper West Side logged the next highest numbers (235) followed by Chelsea/Clinton (197).
The housing department statistics broke down 311 complaints by community district and borough, beginning in June 2003 (just before the city’s bed bug epidemic took off).
In Brooklyn, District 4 (a.k.a. Bushwick) was the crawliest with 472 complaints. District 14 (comprised of bits of Flatbush, Ocean Parkway and Midwood) followed with 468 complaints, with District 12 (Borough Park, Ocean Parkway and Kensington) vying for third place with 328 calls. At 235 complaints, District 1 (Greenpoint and Williamsburg) fell around the middle of the curve, while District #6 (including Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Park Slope) phoned in a mere 40 distress calls—the fewest in Brooklyn. [Click here for a map of community districts and their neighborhoods.]
The least buggy neighborhoods in Manhattan were Wall Street and Tribeca, which logged just 6 complaints altogether. And at a mere 131 telephonic pleas for help, Staten Island appears to be the least likely borough in which to become infested.
None of this necessarily predicts whether your building will be next, of course. As some unlucky J.P. Morgan emloyees learned last month, it can depend as much on where you work as where you live.
On the sort of bright side, while bed bug complaints continued to soar citywide, the epidemic seems to be growing at a slower pace. Complaints increased by 19.2% (up to 10,985) in the last fiscal year. That’s somewhat less alarming than the 33.7% increase logged the year before.
I just got rid of my bed bugs.my husband spent two days in the hospital from the allergic reaction.i had to move for a week and exterminate.any ideas if the company ‘top of the world’ is good? cuz my landlord only agreed to use them.
Unfortunately, once it has been determined that an bed-bug infestation exists, even a single mattress with spots can mean that life comes to a screeching halt for possibly months. Bites can be a nuisance at least and potentially life threatening to those who are allergic, at worst. Because the bugs are so tiny, they can and do hide in the smallest of items – inside a cassette tape for example, and crawl into the tiniest of cracks. The larvae that they produce are quite protected and bed-bugs can only be exterminated once they have been born – but you want to catch them before they have a chance to lay their own new larvae. This usually means that there is a need to treat the infected home 2, 3 or 4 times. Everything – everything! must be cleaned washed or disposed of. New mattresses must be bought – buying sleeves for the mattresses only keep the bugs from getting out of the mattress, but don’t actually kill them for months – as bed bugs can go 6-9 months without eating (feeding on blood). In buildings, treating a single apartment often just forces the bugs to another tenant – but no other option really exists.
It is best to methodically remove all furniture, clothing and items into one “infected room”. Treat the rest of the house and only move things back in as they get treated or cleaned.
Don’t rule out just moving out as it may be the easiest option.
There is no cutting corners with this type of infestation – patience, dollars and assistance are all required.
Hashm Yishmor.
There is a solution: DDT. Unfortunately, it is not available in the United States because of the manner in which it was overused for agricultural purposes half a century ago. But that does not mean that it cannot safely be used now, to fight bedbugs.
Write your congressman and demand that this be made available for home use against bedbugs.
Does anyone know what are the signs or symptoms that you might have bedbugs
signs of bedbugs other than being bitten or actually seeing them are red or brown spots on mattresses or upholstered furniture. you must check in all the seams because they like to hide during the day. you can also wait until night and then use a flashlight to check your bedding, furniture, baseboards or any cracks in the walls where they can hide. other than from your neighbors,most infestations happen when you unknowingly transport bedbugs from a hotel either in your luggage or clothes, don’t put your luggage on the bed or floor . i use food grade diatomaceous earth to kill bedbugs, it is time consuming but cheaper than an exterminator and DE is safe for humans and pets. when i travel i use bugzip bags and an allersac travel sheet to protect myself.
the people I know who had the problem had all been traveling on planes. They probably got it on the planes or it got into their luggage. Question is where was the plane before your flight and who sat on your seat before you? I suggest you travel with disposable seat covers.